Muscat, (ONA) - The Asian Swimming Federation (AASF) held the 14th General Assembly of the Federation today at the Kempinski Hotel, Muscat, headed by Hussein Al-Musallam, the first vice-president of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) on behalf of Shaikh Khalid al Sabah, Chairman of AASF, in the presence of representatives of the International Swimming Federation and other continental federations, and with the participation of heads and representatives of 39 national federations from the continent of Asia.

At the beginning of the meeting hosted by the Sultanate, which hosts the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Asian Swimming Federation, Qais bin Saud Al Zakwani, Secretary of the Oman Swimming Federation, delivered a speech in which he indicated that the Oman Swimming Association has strived for the success of this meeting and overcome all challenges in light of these conditions that the world is going through as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, indicating that the success factors of the meeting were evident in the presence of this number of participants, representatives of national federations in the major continents of the world, and this is a confidence we cherish and a testimony of success for us.

For his part, the Uruguayan President, Dr Julio Maglion, FINA Chairman, joined the meeting virtually and he shared his speech through video conference at “MS Teams” platform. He praised this meeting, which is evidence of the efforts made by the national federations in the Asian continent and their firm desire to rise again and complete the development of the water games in Asia, which will host during the next two years many major sporting events, such as the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

Hussein Al-Musallam, First Vice President of the International Swimming Federation, delivered the official speech on behalf of Sheikh Khalid Al-Bader Al-Sabah, Chairman of AASF, in which he praised the Sultanate’s embrace of this meeting and the active positive role of the Omani Swimming Association and those in charge of Omani sports. He pointed out that the AASF is pleased to see this gathering on the land of the Sultanate in light of the circumstances that the world is going through, hoping that all sporting activities, including the activities and programs of the Asian Swimming Federation and the national federations, will return to normal and according to the programs and plans prepared.

In the meeting, Taha bin Sulaiman Al-Kushari, Secretary-General of the AFC and Chairman of the Oman Swimming Association, announced the completion of the quorum in the presence of representatives of 40 Asian national federations and the apology of four federations, to immediately start reviewing and discussing the topics on the agenda.

During the meeting, the minutes of the thirteenth general conference meeting held in Jakarta in 2018 were approved, and a number of topics were reviewed, including the reports of activities and programs that were implemented, the 2019 financial report, and the reports of the heads of technical committees and working committees of the Asian Swimming Federation. The Asian continent’s nominations for the positions of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), which will be held on the fifth of June next year in Doha, were also reviewed.

The participants were briefed on the promotional visual presentation presented by the Organizing Committee of the Asian Swimming Championships, which will be held in Clark, Philippines during May 2021, and the agenda of the AFC programs and activities for the next year 2021. The AFC General Assembly was concluded by discussing other arising matters.

In a press release delivered during the meeting, Sheikh Khalid Muhammad Al Badr Al-Sabah, Chairman of the Asian Swimming Federation, praised the great work done by the organizers in the Sultanate, which led to the management and establishment of the conference with such a high degree of effectiveness.

(ONA)